Telephony service interaction management

ABSTRACT

A method for managing an interaction of a calling party to a communication partner is provided. The method includes automatically determining if the communication partner expects DTMF input. The method also includes translating speech input to one or more DTMF tones and communicating the one or more DTMF tones to the communication partner, if the communication partner expects DTMF input.

BACKGROUND

Telephony services such as voice mail applications, call centers, andtelephone marketing services, may be automated. For example, someautomated telephony services support speech recognition wherein acalling party interacts with the automated service using voice commands.Some automated telephony services support dual tone multi-frequency(DTMF) input wherein a calling party interacts with the automatedservice by pressing keys on a keypad to send DTMF tones to the automatedservice. In some examples, automated telephony services may not becapable of recognizing speech in a voice input issued by a callingparty, and instead rely on a caller sending tones to the service bypressing keys on a telephone keypad. A calling party uses her hands andeyes to press the buttons and navigate through the automated service.This type of interaction with the telephone keypad may create obstaclesfor vehicle operators and/or other callers using their hands and/or eyesfor other tasks.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore,the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solveany or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.

In one example embodiment, a method for managing an interaction of acalling party to a communication partner is provided. The methodincludes automatically determining if the communication partner expectsDTMF input. The method also includes translating speech input to one ormore DTMF tones and communicating the one or more DTMF tones to thecommunication partner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically shows an example interaction of a calling partywith a called party expecting DTMF input.

FIG. 2A schematically shows another example interaction of a callingparty with a called party expecting DTMF input.

FIG. 2B schematically shows another example interaction of a callingparty with a called party expecting DTMF input.

FIG. 3 shows an example method for managing an interaction of a callingparty to a communication partner over a telecommunication network.

FIG. 4 shows another example method for managing an interaction of acalling party to a communication partner over a telecommunicationnetwork.

FIG. 5 shows an example method for managing an interaction over atelecommunication network using macro voice commands.

FIG. 6 schematically shows an example embodiment of a call managerincluding a data-holding subsystem configured to manage interactionsover a telecommunications network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for managingan interaction between a calling party and a called party (communicationpartner) over a telecommunications network, such as a telephone network.In some examples, the called party may provide an automated telephonyservice. Automated telephony services may support speech recognition(SR) which allows the calling party to interact with the automatedservice using speech input. For example, speech input may be provided bythe calling party to navigate through an automated menu or to sendinformation to the automated telephony service.

However, some automated telephony services may not support speechrecognition and may expect dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) input. Thecalling party generally uses hands and eyes to navigate through andinteract with automated telephony services expecting DTMF input. Forexample, a calling party may use his hands and eyes in order to pressthe buttons and navigate through the automated service, send data to theautomated service, or reach a live agent. This type of interaction withthe telephone keypad may create obstacles for vehicle operators and/orother callers using their hands and/or eyes for other tasks.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example interaction of a calling party 10 with anautomated called party 12. In this example, the calling party mayinitiate a call to the calling party using a telephony device 13, e.g.,a cell phone. The calling party may interact with the called party bypressing one or more keys on a keypad 14 using a physical input 16,e.g., hands or fingers, in response to one or more audio promptsprovided by the called party. By inputting touch input into thetelephony device, e.g., pressing one or more keys on the keypad, thecalling party may send a stream of DTMF tones 18 to the called party.

Automated telephony services provide automated menus that a callingparty may navigate through, for example to connect to a live agent. In ascenario where the called party expects DTMF input, the calling partymay navigate through the automated menu by inputting touch input intothe telephony device, e.g.; pressing one or more buttons on a keypad, orsimilar interface provided by the telephony device, in order to send theDTMF tones to the called party to navigate through the menu.

For example, a vehicle operator may initiate a call to an automatedcalled party using an in-vehicle infotainment system or cell phone,e.g., to check voice mail, bank account information, stocks, etc. Whenthe called party expects DTMF input, the vehicle operator may look at aninterface included on the infotainment system or cell phone, e.g., akeypad, to press the correct numbers so that the infotainment system orcell phone can send corresponding DTMF tones to the called party.

The example interactions described above with reference to FIG. 1 maycreate obstacles in situations where the calling party's attention is orshould be focused on other tasks. For example, if the calling party isoperating a vehicle, the calling party's hands and eyes may be focusedon operating the vehicle. In such a scenario, interacting with a callingparty may be dangerous. Additionally, laws may be passed which prohibita vehicle operator from physically interacting with such a system whileoperating a vehicle.

In addition to safety concerns, an interaction with a calling party viaa telecommunications network, such as illustrated in FIG. 1, mayinconvenience a calling party whose attention is focused on other tasks.For example, a calling party may desire to navigate an automated menuwhile performing another task, such as driving a vehicle. In suchscenarios, listening for audio prompts provided by the called partyand/or pressing keys on a keypad in response to such prompts, e.g., tonavigate an automated menu to speak to a live agent, may result incaller annoyance and discomfort.

In order to address the issues described above, a call manager includinga speech to DTMF translator may be provided to intercept and manage aninteraction of a calling party to a communication partner over atelecommunications network. For example, a speech to DTMF translator maytranslate voice commands into corresponding DTMF tones to send to thecalled party on the calling party's behalf.

The call manager may manage an interaction of a calling party to acalled party through a variety of different configurations. In someembodiments a call manager may be implemented on the client side such asa component of a telephony device, e.g., a cell phone, or as a componentof an onboard vehicle infotainment system, or similar device cooperatingwith the phone.

For example, FIG. 2A illustrates an example interaction of a callingparty 20 with called party 22 managed with a call manager 24 including aspeech to DTMF translator 25 implemented on the client side. Asindicated at 27, the call manager may be a component of a telephonydevice 23, e.g., a cell phone. In other examples, the call manager maybe a component of an onboard vehicle infotainment system, or similardevice, configured to cooperate with telephony device 23. For example,call manager 24 may include a voice user interface (VUI) application,e.g., a voice mail retrieval application, which may be executed bytelephony device 23, an onboard vehicle infotainment system, and/oranother suitable device.

In some examples, the calling party 20 may initiate a call to the calledparty 22 with a voice input 26 provided to call manager 24. The voiceinput may include key words or phrases recognized by a speechrecognition (SR) system included in the call manager, for example. Thecall manager may send DTMF tones, synthesized voice responses, and thelike to the called party 22 on behalf of the calling party in order tomanage the interaction.

For example, the speech to DTMF translator 25 of the call manager mayrecognize speech patterns in a voice stream using an SR engine andtranslate recognized speech patterns into a plurality of DTMF tones. Thespeech to DTMF translator may include a map of speech patterns toassociated DTMF tones, e.g., stored on a data-holding subsystem of thespeech to DTMF translator. Such a map may include pre-set key words orkey phrases associated with corresponding DTMF tones.

The call manager may be configured to acknowledge macro voice commandsdefined by a user of the telephony device. Macro voice commands mayinclude key words or phrases assigned to a plurality of DTMF tones by auser of the telephony device. For example, a user of the telephonydevice may associate the speech pattern “my PIN” with a sequence of DTMFtones corresponding to a multi-digit PIN number.

For example, the calling party may say “Press 3” which is translated toDTMF tone 3 by the speech to DTMF translator and output to the calledparty. As another example, the calling party may say “my PIN” which istranslated to a plurality of DTMF tones and output to the called party.In this way, the calling party may interact with an automated serviceusing one or more voice commands, thus freeing up the hands, eyes, andattention of the calling party and reducing speech recognition errors.

In some embodiments, a call manager may be implemented server-side, forexample as a node in a telecommunications network. In such embodiments,a calling party may use a telephony device, e.g., a cell phone, tocontact the call manager. The call manager may then initiate a call tothe calling party and manage the interaction on behalf of the callingparty. For example, FIG. 2B illustrates an example interaction of acalling party 30 with called party 32 managed with a call manager 34including a speech to DTMF translator 35 located server-side on atelecommunications network (e.g., a remote DTMF translation service).For example, the telecommunications network may include a plurality ofdistinct nodes, where the plurality of distinct nodes includes thecalling party, the call manager, and the called party.

In this example, a calling party 30 initiates a call to a call manager34. Call manager 34 may then initiate a call to the called party 32 andmanage the interaction on behalf of the calling party. For example, thecalling party may input voice commands into the telephony device 33 viavoice input 36. The telephony device 33 may send the voice input 36 viaa voice stream 37 over a telecommunications network to the call manager34. The speech to DTMF translator 35 in the call manager may recognizespeech patterns in the voice stream using an SR engine, and translaterecognized speech patterns into corresponding DTMF tones to send to thecalled party.

In some examples, a call manager may assist a calling party innavigating through an automated menu, e.g., to speak to a live agent.For example, in response to a voice command by a calling party, the callmanager may mute the audio signal provided to the calling party by thecalled party while monitoring the audio signals provided by the calledparty to identify prompts for input. In response to identified prompts,the call manager may automatically, without further input from thecalling party, send appropriate synthesized responses or DTMF tones toautomatically proceed through a menu to reach a live agent, or achieveanother desired result. Additionally, the call manager may notify thecalling party when a live agent has been reached, or another desiredresult has been achieved. In this way, a caller may reach a live agentthrough an automated menu without constantly monitoring the phone call,manually pressing buttons, or even continuously giving voice commands.

FIGS. 3-5 show various example methods for managing an interaction of acalling party to a called party over a telecommunications network.

At 302 of FIG. 3, a method 300 includes automatically determining if thecommunication partner expects DTMF input. Automatically determining ifthe communication partner expects DTMF input may include determining ifthe communication partner is an automated service and, if so,determining if the automated service expects DTMF input. Automaticallydetermining if the communication partner expects DTMF input may alsoinclude determining if the communication partner is a live agent.

In some examples, automatically determining if a communication partnerexpects DTMF input may be based on a speech input of the calling party.For example, a delay in speech provided by the calling party mayindicate that the calling party is set to enter data to send to thecalled party. In other examples, the calling party may use one or morevoice commands or a user interface to indicate that the communicationpartner expects DTMF input.

In other examples, automatically determining if a communication partnerexpects DTMF input or is a live agent may include using a speechrecognition system to monitor audible prompts from the communicationpartner to recognize one or more key phrases. For example, an SR enginemay be used to monitor audible signals from the communication partner.Recognized speech may be sent to a speech classifier to determine if thecommunication partner expects DTMF input. The speech classifier mayprovide a statistical analysis of the content of the phrases identifiedby the SR engine, for example. For example, phrases such as “Press #when you are finished” may be used to identify whether the communicationpartner expects DTMF input. In some examples, the SR engine may be asubsystem of a speech to DTMF translator which may be included within aninfotainment system onboard a vehicle or in a cell phone. In otherexamples, the SR engine may be a subsystem of a speech to DTMFtranslator node in a telecommunications network.

In some examples, automatically determining if a communication partneris a live agent may be based on a change of an audio level in audiblesignals from the communication partner. For example, the audio level ofan automated service may be different than the audio level of a liveagent. As another example, the audio level may decrease when acommunication partner is expecting DTMF input.

In still further examples, automatically determining if a communicationpartner is a live agent may include sending one or more queries to thecommunication partner. For example, an artificial query such as “Hello?”may be synthesized and sent to the communication partner and theresponse monitored to identify whether or not a live agent is present.In some examples, monitoring a response to an artificial query mayinclude identifying a change in an audio level in audible signals fromthe communication partner. For example, volume and/or noise level mayincrease when a live agent comes on the line. In other examples,monitoring a response to an artificial query may include sending theaudio signal provided by the communication partner to an SR engine todetermine whether the communication partner provides one or moreappropriate responses to the artificial query. For example, anartificial query such as “Are you there?” may have an appropriateresponse of “Yes.”

Additionally, automatically determining if a communication partnerexpects DTMF input may be based on the phone number and/or time of dayat the location of the called party. For example, certain numbers may beknown to provide automated services during certain hours of the day. Adatabase of called party numbers may be stored in a data-holdingsubsystem of the call manager together with information about whether ornot the called party expects DTMF input. Such a database may be pre-setor be created on a call-by-call basis. For example, if a calling partycalls a called party which is identified as expecting DTMF input, thenthe telephone number of the called party may be stored in a database forfuture calls. Such a database may be a user-specific database that ismaintained for a particular calling party or a shared database that isused by a plurality of different calling parties. In other examples, auser may specify which numbers are automated in an address book storedon a data-holding subsystem of the call manager or on the telephonydevice used to make calls.

If at 304, the communications partner does not expect DTMF input, method300 proceeds to 306. At 306, method 300 includes refraining fromtranslating speech input into one or more DTMF tones. Refraining fromtranslating speech input into one or more DTMF tones may includerefraining from translating pre-set voice commands, e.g., macro voicecommands, to DTMF tones; for example, when a live communication partneranswers the phone or when a called party accepts voice input.

However, if at 304, the communications partner expects DTMF input, thenmethod 300 proceeds to 308. At 308, method 300 includes translatingspeech input into one or more DTMF tones. As described above,translating speech input into one or more DTMF tones may includemonitoring a voice stream from the calling party with an SR engine,recognizing key words or phrases in the voice stream and translating therecognized key words or phrases into corresponding DTMF tones byconsulting a map, such as a map stored in a data-holding subsystem of aspeech to DTMF translator.

At 310, method 300 includes communicating the one or more DTMF tones tothe communication partner. For example, a speech to DTMF translator maysend the tones on behalf of the calling party to the called party overthe telecommunications network.

FIG. 4 shows another example method 400 for managing an interaction of acalling party to a communication partner over a telecommunicationnetwork.

At 402, method 400 includes automatically determining if a communicationpartner expects DTMF input. As described above with reference to FIG. 3,automatically determining if a communication partner expects DTMF inputmay be based on information transmitted over the telecommunicationnetwork, including a speech input of the calling party, recognition ofkey words or phrases in an audio stream, a change of an audio level inan audio stream, responses to queries sent to the called party, etc.

If at 404, the communication partner does not expect DTMF input, method400 ends. Otherwise, if at 404, the communications partner expects DTMFinput, method 400 proceeds to 406.

At 406, method 400 includes automatically proceeding through a menu. Insome examples, automatically proceeding through a menu may includeautomatically proceeding through a menu to reach a live agent.Automatically proceeding through a menu to reach a live agent mayinclude using an SR engine to recognize key words or phrases spoken bythe called party. When key words and phrases are identified, appropriateresponses may be provided by the call manager to the called party toreach a live agent. Responses to the called party to reach a live agentmay include DTMF tones, e.g., DTMF tone 0 to speak to a live agent,synthesized voice responses, and the like.

In other examples, automatically proceeding through a menu to reach alive agent may include sending queries to the called party andmonitoring the audio signal from the called party to identify when alive agent has been reached. As described above, monitoring a responseto an artificial query may include identifying a change in an audiolevel in audible signals from the communication partner or sending theaudio signal provided by the communication partner to an SR engine todetermine whether the communication partner provides one or moreappropriate responses to the artificial query.

In still other examples, automatically proceeding through a menu mayinclude automatically navigating through a menu to reach a destinationon behalf of the calling party. For example, a calling party may wish toretrieve or provide information, e.g., checking account information, bycalling an automated service, e.g., an automated service provided by abank. In this example, an automated menu provided by the communicationpartner may be automatically traversed to retrieve or provide theinformation.

Automatically navigating through a menu to reach a destination on behalfof the calling party may include using an SR engine to recognize keywords or phrases spoken by the called party. When key words and phrasesare identified, appropriate responses may be provided by the callmanager to the called party to navigate the menu to reach thedestination. Responses to the called party to navigate the menu to reacha destination may include DTMF tones, synthesized voice responses, andthe like.

At 408, method 400 includes muting an audio signal provided by thecalled party to the calling party while proceeding through the menu. Forexample, a call manager may continue to monitor and respond to promptsprovided by the called party while muting the audio signal provided tothe calling party. In this way, distraction to a calling party may bereduced while an automated menus is traversed, e.g., until a live agentis reached.

At 410, method 400 includes notifying the calling party when theautomated menu is traversed, e.g., when a live agent or destination isreached. For example, notifying the calling party when an automated menuis traversed may include un-muting the audio signal provided by thecalled party to the calling party and/or providing a notification sound,e.g., a ring, beep, and/or synthesized voice alert, to the calling partyto alert the calling party that a live agent has been reached.

In some examples, automatically navigating through a menu to reach adestination may be performed in response to one or more voice commandsprovided by the calling party. For example, a calling party may providethe voice command “checking account information.” The call manager mayrecognize the voice command, e.g., by using an SR engine. In response torecognizing the voice command, the call manager may mute the audioprovided to the calling party and initiate a call to the called party,e.g., a bank. The call manager may then recognize menu prompts providedby the called party and provide appropriate responses to the recognizedmenu prompts. For example, the call manager may provide DTMF tones,synthesized voice responses, and the like to the called party in orderto navigate the automated menu to reach a menu destination. When themenu destination is reached, the call manager may un-mute the audioprovided to the calling party, e.g., to provide the checking accountinformation to the calling party.

In some examples, automatically navigating through a menu to reach adestination may be based on training data obtained from previous callsto an automated service. For example, when a calling party provides avoice command, e.g., “checking account information,” to the callmanager, the call manager may navigate the automated service based on aprevious call, e.g., a previous call to obtain banking accountinformation. For example, the automated service providing checkingaccount information may include a menu which includes prompts such as“English or Spanish,” “Enter PIN number,” and “Account Information.” Thecall manager may employ an SR engine to recognize a set of keywordsbased on a training set from a previous call to the automated service.

In some examples, a fuzzy search algorithm may be employed by the callmanager to determine which menu options to choose while traversing amenu to reach a menu destination. At each identified menu prompt thecall manager may output one or more DTMF tones to traverse the menu. Insome examples, the call manager may explore an entire automated menu tofind a desired menu option. In this example, if a desired menu option isnot found in the automated menu, the call manager may traverse the menuto reach a live agent and notify the calling party. Once a live agent isreached the call manager may un-mute the audio provided to the callingparty and notify the calling party that a live agent has been reached.

FIG. 5 shows an example embodiment of a method 500 for managing aninteraction over a telecommunication network using macro voice commands.

At 502, method 500 includes mapping a macro voice command to a pluralityof DTMF tones. As described above, macro voice commands may include keywords or phrases assigned to a plurality of DTMF tones by a user of thetelephony device used by the calling party, e.g., as a map stored on adata-holding subsystem of a telephony server. In this way the macrovoice commands may be encoded for security and may reduce recognitionerrors by an SR engine.

In some examples, mapping a macro voice command to a plurality of DTMFtones may occur in response to a prompt by a user. For example, theprompt by a user may include an interaction of the user with a userinterface provided by or in communication with the call manager. Theuser interface may accept voice and/or touch input, e.g., the userinterface may be a VUI or a graphical user interface (GUI). In someexamples, a user may map a macro voice command to a plurality of DTMFtones by inputting, via speech or touch, an original key word or phrasetogether with a corresponding DTMF tone sequence. In other examples, auser may choose a key word or phrase from a preset list presented by theinterface, then input, via speech or touch, a corresponding DTMFsequence. It should be understood that any number of tones may beassigned to a macro voice command. Additionally, macro voice commandsmay include pauses of set durations or other audio information which maybe recognized by an SR engine.

At 504, method 500 includes identifying the macro voice command in avoice stream of a calling party. Identifying the macro voice command ina voice stream of a calling party may include using an SR engine tomonitor the voice stream of the calling party and recognizing macrovoice commands in the voice stream.

At 506, method 500 includes outputting the plurality of DTMF tones. Forexample, the plurality of DTMF tones may be output over atelecommunication network by a speech to DTMF translator in the callmanager to the called party. Outputting the plurality of DTMF tones at506 may also include navigating an automated menu to reach a menudestination as described above. For example, in addition to DTMF tones,synthesized voice responses, silence, and/or artificial queries may beoutput by the call manager to navigate an automated menu to reach adestination.

In some embodiments, the above described methods and processes may betied to a computing system. As an example, FIG. 6 schematically shows acall manager 600 that may perform one or more of the above describedmethods and processes. Call manager 600 includes a logic subsystem 602and a data-holding subsystem 604. Call manager 600 may optionallyinclude a display subsystem and/or other components not shown in FIG. 6.

As described above, call manager 600 may manage an interaction of acalling party to a called party through a variety of differentconfigurations. For example, the call manager translator may be includedwithin an infotainment system onboard a vehicle or in a cell phone, e.g.as a voice user interface (VUI) application. In other examples, the callmanager may be a node in a telecommunications network, e.g., operated asa remote service of which a variety of different types of communicationdevices may take advantage.

Logic subsystem 602 may include one or more physical devices configuredto execute one or more instructions. For example, the logic subsystemmay be configured to execute one or more instructions that are part ofone or more programs, routines, objects, components, data structures, orother logical constructs. Such instructions may be implemented toperform a task, implement a data type, transform the state of one ormore devices, or otherwise arrive at a desired result. The logicsubsystem may include one or more processors that are configured toexecute software instructions. Additionally or alternatively, the logicsubsystem may include one or more hardware or firmware logic machinesconfigured to execute hardware or firmware instructions. The logicsubsystem may optionally include individual components that aredistributed throughout two or more devices, which may be remotelylocated in some embodiments.

Data-holding subsystem 604 may include one or more physical,non-transitory, devices configured to hold data and/or instructionsexecutable by the logic subsystem to implement the herein describedmethods and processes. When such methods and processes are implemented,the state of data-holding subsystem 604 may be transformed (e.g., tohold different data). Data-holding subsystem 604 may include removablemedia and/or built-in devices. Data-holding subsystem 604 may includeoptical memory devices, semiconductor memory devices, and/or magneticmemory devices, among others. Data-holding subsystem 604 may includedevices with one or more of the following characteristics: volatile,nonvolatile, dynamic, static, read/write, read-only, random access,sequential access, location addressable, file addressable, and contentaddressable. In some embodiments, logic subsystem 602 and data-holdingsubsystem 604 may be integrated into one or more common devices, such asan application specific integrated circuit or a system on a chip.

FIG. 6 also shows an aspect of the data-holding subsystem in the form ofcomputer-readable removable media 616, which may be used to store and/ortransfer data and/or instructions executable to implement the hereindescribed methods and processes.

The terms “module” and “engine” may be used to describe an aspect ofcall manager 600 that is implemented to perform one or more particularfunctions. In some cases, such a module or engine may be instantiatedvia logic subsystem 602 executing instructions held by data-holdingsubsystem 604. It is to be understood that different modules and/orengines may be instantiated from the same application, code block,object, routine, and/or function. Likewise, the same module and/orengine may be instantiated by different applications, code blocks,objects, routines, and/or functions in some cases.

Call manager 600 includes a speech to DTMF translator 605. Speech toDTMF translator includes a speech recognition subsystem 608 configuredto monitor an audio stream and recognize speech patterns in the audiostream. Speech recognition subsystem 608 may include a variety ofmodules configured to identify speech and classify the identifiedspeech. For example, speech recognition subsystem 608 may include aspeech classifier module which provides a statistical analysis ofrecognized speech patterns. Speech recognition subsystem 608 may furtherparse the recognized speech patterns to identify key words or phraseswhich have been assigned to DTMF tones in a map stored in thedata-holding subsystem 604. For example, macro voice commands may beassigned by a user via a user interface and stored in a map on thedata-holding subsystem. DTMF tones may be generated by a DTMF generatingdevice 610, which may send the DTMF tones to a called party.

It is to be understood that the configurations and/or approachesdescribed herein are exemplary in nature, and that these specificembodiments or examples are not to be considered in a limiting sense,because numerous variations are possible. The specific routines ormethods described herein may represent one or more of any number ofprocessing strategies. As such, various acts illustrated may beperformed in the sequence illustrated, in other sequences, in parallel,or in some cases omitted. Likewise, the order of the above-describedprocesses may be changed.

The subject matter of the present disclosure includes all novel andnonobvious combinations and subcombinations of the various processes,systems and configurations, and other features, functions, acts, and/orproperties disclosed herein, as well as any and all equivalents thereof.

1. A method for managing an interaction of a calling party to acommunication partner over a telecommunications network, comprising:automatically determining if the communication partner expects DTMFinput; if the communication partner expects DTMF input, translatingspeech input to one or more DTMF tones; and communicating the one ormore DTMF tones to the communication partner.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein automatically determining if a communication partner expectsDTMF input is based on a speech input of the calling party.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein automatically determining if a communicationpartner expects DTMF input includes using a speech recognition system tomonitor audible signals from the communication partner to recognize oneor more key phrases.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein automaticallydetermining if a communication partner expects DTMF input is based on achange of an audio level in audible signals from the communicationpartner.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically determining ifa communication partner expects DTMF input includes sending a query tothe communication partner.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising,if the communication partner does not expect DTMF input, refraining fromtranslating speech input to one or more DTMF tones.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising, if the communication partner expects DTMFinput, automatically proceeding through a menu to reach a live agent. 8.The method of claim 7, further comprising muting an audio signal to thecalling party while proceeding through a menu to reach a live agent. 9.The method of claim 7, further comprising notifying the calling partywhen a live agent is reached.
 10. A call manager, comprising: a logicsubsystem to execute instructions; and a data-holding subsystem holdinginstructions executable to: receive a voice stream directed from acalling party to a called party via a telecommunications network;recognize speech input from the voice stream; translate a recognizedspeech input into one or more DTMF tones; and send the one or more DTMFtones to the called party.
 11. The call manager of claim 10, wherein thetelecommunications network includes a plurality of distinct nodes andthe plurality of distinct nodes includes the calling party, the callmanager, and the called party.
 12. The call manager of claim 10, whereinthe data-holding subsystem holds instructions executable to determine ifthe called party expects DTMF input.
 13. The call manager of claim 12,wherein the data-holding subsystem holds instructions executable torefrain from translating speech input to one or more DTMF tones if thecalled party does not expect DTMF input.
 14. The call manager of claim12, wherein the data-holding subsystem holds instructions executable toautomatically proceed through a menu to reach a live agent if the calledparty expects DTMF input.
 15. The call manager of claim 14, wherein thedata-holding subsystem holds instructions executable to mute an audiosignal to the calling party while proceeding through a menu to reach alive agent.
 16. The call manager of claim 14, wherein the data-holdingsubsystem holds instructions executable to notify the calling party whena live agent is reached.
 17. The call manager of claim 10, wherein thecalled party is a voice-mail retrieval application.
 18. A method formanaging an interaction over a telecommunications network, comprising:mapping a macro voice command to a plurality of DTMF tones; identifyingthe macro voice command in a voice stream of a calling party; andoutputting the plurality of DTMF tones.
 19. The method of claim 18,wherein mapping a macro voice command to a plurality of DTMF tonesoccurs in response to a prompt by a user.
 20. The method of claim 19,wherein the prompt by a user includes an interaction of the user with auser interface.